Mike Miller Takes on SecureWorld Charlotte

Mike Miller was invited to speak at SecureWorld Charlotte in a fireside chat titled, "Your Career in Cybersecurity" in early March.  Mike is sharing his experience - tag along as he gives his first-hand account!

I was fortunate enough to fly to Charlotte last week to speak at SecureWorld.  As many of us work in our own home offices, it was great to get out and shake hands.  Teams and Zoom have become a way of life for many of us, including myself.  Since the epidemic and many people working permanently from home, it is easy to forget what the comradery feels like when talking in person.

Months prior, a BISO (business information security officer) from Bank of America had reached out to me to take part in SecureWorld.  Being previously connected on LinkedIn, when we finally met, it was like we had known each other for years.  Once I arrived at the conference, I was quickly surrounded by top-level individuals from companies we all know.  Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Ally were just some of the companies being represented.

As I spent the day with Rob (the Bank of America BISO and my new friend), I joined many of the conversations that he was in.  The morning started off by getting myself invited to an invite-only advisory board meeting.  This consisted of about 15 people including CEOs, VPs, CISOs, BISOs, and top-level security personnel.  While I really didn’t think I’d have much to contribute (imposter syndrome was setting in), I was surprised that the topic of conversation was one that I was very familiar with - How do we retain talent?  How do we mentor the next generation?  How do we keep them interested?  For an hour, we discussed different thoughts, and ideas, and even told stories about how many of us had gotten started in the industry.

It seemed the theme for this year surrounded Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, and Cloud.  As these topics are rising in the cybersecurity community, they lead to great discussions.  Is ChatGPT going to be around a year from now?  Should we be learning it?  How can it change our jobs?  While there seemed to be much uncertainty, one thing remained clear: technology changes fast.  It takes time and dedication to stay at the forefront of this industry.  However, none of us are able to learn everything.  It seems that the more we learn, the more we learn what we don’t know.

The cloud is going nowhere.  In fact, data centers are disappearing every single day because of its rising adoption.  The key takeaway is we must ensure that we are using it properly, locking down the hatches, and not using it carelessly.

Discussions were held about recent breaches, however once again it comes down to vulnerabilities in humans.  Humans make mistakes such as clicking malicious links, giving out information, or even approving a security request that should have been denied.

My speaking engagement was set to take place in the afternoon.  Chatting with many individuals throughout the day, I knew that I would have a room full of experienced professionals.  What could I offer them?  Is there anything they can learn from me?  Once again, these questions started surfacing.

My topic was protecting your career.  I started with this question: “How many have a Disaster Recovery Plan at your organization?”  Most people stuck their hands up.  The next question I asked was “How many have your own Disaster Recovery Plan if you lose your job tomorrow?”  It was answered by crickets…  Even seasoned pros hadn’t thought about what their game plan would be if they had lost their job.  If there is one thing that we have all learned from the pandemic, it is that nothing is for certain.  This led to great conversation surrounding the topic.  In the end, I believe they learned something from me, and I certainly learned from their engagement.

SecureWorld put together a fantastic conference.  It was for people from all backgrounds and all levels of experience.  I commend them for their hard work and for making it more than worth the day I spent there.

Mike Miller is a cybersecurity professional with 25 years of experience throughout the IT industry.  He has focused on security, specializing in the areas of Virtual Chief Information Security Officer services, Governance, Risk, and Compliance, PCI, SOC, Intrusion Detection, Penetration Testing, and Incident Response.  In 2011, Mike founded Cyber Protection Group, which was acquired by Appalachia in 2022.  Mike is passionate about mentoring and assisting aspiring cybersecurity professionals and can be found regularly sharing insight on his LinkedIn profile.  When he isn’t fighting cyber crime, Mike loves spending time with his wife and kids, often boating in the Ozarks.